Insurance Overview
Insurance companies supply services to a wide variety of customers, from everyday consumers to large corporations.
But do they have guidelines or policies as to who they will and won't insure? Do green and ethical considerations feature in insurance companies' risk assessments?
Might they, for example, offer coverage to munitions factories or companies with significant operations in countries with oppressive regimes? Or might they insure others with poor labour or environmental records?
Green and ethical insurance products
Green and ethical insurance products
For home, motor, travel, life and health insurance, there is a small but growing number of green and ethical insurance products available. A selection is below:
- Co-operative Insurance
Insurance type: home, motor, life and health
This provider has a comprehensive ethical engagement policy in place that governs all its insurance decisions. The Co-op's 'ecoinsurance' scheme offers cash incentives as well as environmental pledges. It offsets the equivalent of 20 per cent of the CO2 from every vehicle insured and also offers premium discounts for greener cars. - Climate Sure
Insurance type: travel
Climate Sure calculates the CO2 produced by flying overseas and pays for it to be 'offset' by funding sustainable energy projects. - Green Insurance Company
Insurance type: motor
This provider aims to offset your car's carbon emissions and offers discounts on greener cars/lower mileage. - Naturesave
Insurance types: home, travel, personal accident and illness
This company puts 10% of its personal insurance premiums in a fund (Naturesave Trust) to benefit environmental and conservation projects. It also offers a free environmental performance review for commercial clients and aims to use suppliers that support sustainable business practices. - Ansvar Insurance Co Ltd
Insurance types: home, motor, travel
Insurance is sold to individuals and organisations with a not-for-profit remit.
Your next steps
What do you do now? Check out our guide Next Steps - Insurance for suggestions on how to give your insurance policies a green and ethical makeover as well as the questions you should be asking your current or prospective insurance provider.
Insurance Search
Insurance Provider
Tesco Personal Finance
Green/Ethical Products
None
Ethical Lending or Insurance
No evidence of an ethical lending policy was found.
Responsible Lending
1. Credit Lending
Tesco Personal Finance offers unsecured credit only.
The bank runs both credit checking (with reference agencies) and scoring (using information provided by the customer).
No information was found on any policy to avoid or prevent offering unrequested increases in credit limits to customers.
2. Debt Warning
The bank warns customers to spend what they can afford and about having to pay monthly interest. It recommends using a credit card as a ‘budgeting tool’, rather than as a loan or as an overdraft, and not to use the card's spending limit as a benchmark. It further warns of potential damage to customers’ credit ratings by not making minimum credit card payments.
The bank’s website contains a link to the FSA’s Money Made Clear site (which includes a Debt Test) and also has a quick quiz to test if customers are using their credit cards responsibly.
The bank’s website also carries a section on bankruptcy and warns against using it as a way of clearing debt.
3. Debt Management and Advice
Apart from the section on bankruptcy, no other information or policies on payment default and handling payment problems were found. The bank does offer the possibility of a two month payment holiday, but specific details were not publicly available.
Financial Exclusion
Tesco Personal Finance does not provide a basic bank account or other service to the financially excluded, nor does it meet any of our other criteria i.e. it was not found to work with credit unions, provide access for disabled or other disadvantaged customers, fund microfinance projects or lend at preferential rates to deprived communities.
Environment
Tesco’s environmental policy addresses the key issues of energy efficiency, waste management and states it has a long term commitment to improved environmental performance.
Carbon Neutral
No appropriate pledge was found to make the bank’s business operations carbon neutral.
Equal Opportunities
Tesco’s diversity policy addresses the key issues of gender, race, disability and sexuality.
Women on the Board
No data found.
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Not by itself, but the parent company is member of:
Tesco Personal Finance
- Credit Cards
- Loans
- Mortgages
- Savings
- Insurance (Home, Motor, Travel, Pet, Life, Health)
Tesco Personal Finance
Tesco Personal Finance
PO Box 104010
George House (4th Floor)
36 North Hanover Street
Glasgow
G1 2YG
